video; spam

[anewlanguage]

[Cain has flour on his cheek, and he's in the kitchen, taking a break.] Y'know, worldwide there's room for comfort food after a real shitty day. I'm takin' requests.

Me, I always went for pierogis. Stayed in Poland just long enough to learn how to make 'em. [And to kill a diplomat. But. You know.] Kid seemed to like 'em pretty well, too. Pretty sure tastes change, though...

Anyway, give 'em here, give me all your requests.

Comments

[hellofist]

I have- a name, now.

[anewlanguage]

Was tryin' to respect your privacy. [Since she's not the only kid he ever took in but--uh. That's a secret.]

[hellofist]

Most people know. Already asked them... not to kill you, remember?

[anewlanguage]

Sure, but do you want me tellin' em your baby stories?

[hellofist]

[Why did she do this? Why did she open herself up to this? It's stupid, she knows that, but she still doesn't cut the feed.]

Probably you, who shouldn't want it. Start with- two for flinching, maybe?

[surfaceshine]

[Cain, every time Dean starts to like you, you do something to remind him why he doesn't.]

I thought you said you barely knew how to cook.

[surfaceshine]

Sweetheart.

[hellofist]

What?

[surfaceshine]

You good?

[anewlanguage]

[It's been a rough month. When he talks to her--or when she is willing to talk to him--it hurts like hell, but he takes it eagerly because in some small way he thinks it will help her. Yes, hit back; that's how you recover.

Because of that he always tries to just keep his expression blank, the way he taught her. He knows full well she can see the little winces under the surface, but hiding it means he's capable of taking more.

But again, it's been a long month. His expression crumples for a full two seconds, and then he swallows hard and starts arranging ingredients.]

Wasn't- wasn't the story I was thinking of.

[anewlanguage]

[He could take a few minutes to compose himself and come back bantering and smirking. He decides not to, and just shrugs. What the hell. It's not like Dean couldn't see the conversation with Cass.]

I know ten recipes, tops. Some of 'em involve rat so I don't really count 'em. But I'm a quick learner.

What's your request, Warden?

Private

[hellofist]

[Is he serious right now?]

No.

[At least she thinks to make this part private, though.]

Private

[surfaceshine]

[He's using video. She can see that he already knew the answer to that.]

Want me to shut 'im down?

[He doesn't really know how he's going to do that yet, but if she wants him to, he'll find a way.]

[surfaceshine]

[Dean's plenty annoyed, but maybe it's guilt over what happened in Silent Hill, maybe it's how cooperative he was being before that, after, maybe it's that Dean has a line for how much of a dick he's willing to be.

The last isn't likely, but it's possible.]

Churros.

[anewlanguage]

[Cain nods with a gruff sound. He'll have to look that one up.]

Hope you don't mind a few practice runs.

[Private]

[He thumbs on their filter and then...and then the words just kind of dry up for a moment.]

Didn't mean to upset her. I figured she had my feed blocked.

[surfaceshine]

I survived on my own cooking when I was a kid. I think I'll be fine.

[ Private ]

[It's not that the shine only wears off Dean when he's not in public; he's been a dick in public plenty of times. It's that now he's just plain annoyed.]

Yeah, what about the rest of the Barge?

You don't get to decide when you and her are connected again. That's her choice, whether you think she's watching or not.

[anewlanguage]

That wasn't what I was after. [And consciously it wasn't. Subconsciously, he can admit--later--that maybe it was. His last conversation with Iris had left him obsessing over it, and he hasn't managed to shut it down yet.]

For all anyone knows I had a hundred kids. [Dean, by now, ought to know that Cass was far from the first.] And I call all the lot of you 'kid' and--

Look, either I need something more to do, or I need a fuck of a lot more whiskey. I'd take the whiskey, it'll keep me quieter, but you're the warden.

[surfaceshine]

Well, it's what happened. [Dean does know that, and he tries to ignore that, because it isn't going to get them anywhere. Either of them. Mostly he's successful, but when he gets reminded, he gets a little pissy.

He rolls his eyes, mutters a curse.]

Whiskey is fine, I'll get you some, but it also makes people occasionally stupid. How do you feel about the CTS? Or maybe pulling an extra shift on the breakfast crew, too.

[deadly_ned]

Pie.

There's a, um.

A competition, for small shops that make comfort food, where I come from. And I usually...enter it.


I don't know much from pierogis. But I've never actually...had one.

[anewlanguage]

CTS won't do me any good. [He doesn't want to work off stress with violence.] I'll see 'bout an extra shift.

[He wants to ask about Cass, worrying over her. But he doesn't.]

How's the crew holding up?

[private]

[routemistress]

There's a thing we used to 'ave on Karn, spiced fried fish tongues. Quite like Terran salt and pepper shrimp. I don't actually mind not 'aving it, though.

[She's just ...being here.]

Private, plus the last 5 comments

[surfaceshine]

Point Riddick at me if he has any questions or concerns. I expect you two'll get on alright though.

[Dean's relieved and confused about that, anyway, but he's not going to question it right now. For the man represented by the file in Dean's safe, he's shown remarkably little tendency towards causing the kind of trouble the Barge is used to seeing.]

Crew? What crew? [It's genuine confusion, though his saturating, unaimed annoyance makes it sharp as well.]

[hellofist]

[She's not sure if she should feel guilty or glad she's making her point, glad she's providing a counter-balance to him coming up with this image of a father who made snacks for his child. It's wrong, it feels wrong to let him do that, put himself out there like he's only a good man.

He has that in there somewhere, he has to. She believes he has to, because he wouldn't be here if he didn't have some chance at changing.]

No? Which one, then?

[anewlanguage]

Tell you what, you teach me, I'll teach you.

[deadly_ned]

I'll teach you how to make a cake-pie.


And I want you to give it to your daughter.